Hey yall, I'm sure this has been discussed but when I used the search function I couldn't find anything.

Anyways, I am looking to upgrade my steering on my 2000 XJ on 33s. Biggest I will go with this axle is 35s, so I was wanting to do the ZJ steering.
First question is, does anyone have a parts list handy for what exactly needs to be ordered and from which year ZJ?
2nd question, I figured doing a OTK kit would be a little overkill considering the biggest I will go on this Dana 30 is 35s. Am I wrong in this thinking?

Thank you for your time!

 

Thanks for the question

As far as steering upgrades go, the only thing you really need is the ZJ V8 tie rod. 98 with the V8 is a good place to start. If you start going down the rabbit hole of tie rod flips you will end up messing with track bar mounting or eventually getting death wobble. Just leave it as it is. The drag link is the same for all models of XJ and ZJ. Tie rod ends are strong enough as long as you keep them lubricated. So make sure the boots are intact.

 

Thank you for the response! That is great news to hear! It needs tie rod ends so I will replace those while I have it all apart. I will definitely get the ZJ tie rod. Thank you very much for the response!

 

Above stated couldn't have been laid out better.

Only thing I would add to this is your intentions on upgrade.

Changing to an over the knuckle setup would be an aproach to take considering lift size - Not necessarily related to tire size or steering durability. Reduced steering angle does help keep things lasting longer but may not be necessary with a modest lift.

As stated above it adds a level of modification not always considered by novice offroaders and can make things difficult if trying to do/understand yourself. The short end of that is to remember the closer your steering and track bar angles AND LENGTH are the better. The angle is most often talked about but the length is most often overlooked.

 

As it sits now, with the drop pitman arm, my steering and track bar are pretty close I believe.
Visiting with family today, when I get home tonight I will post a pic of the way it is set up and let y'all take a look and get y'alls opinions.

 

this is the set up as it sits right now with no replacement parts on it yet.
My drag link and track bar are almost perfect in line.

 

Looking at these pics made me go and look at my jeep, the tie rod is slightly angled up to the draglink connection. Can a ZJ tie rod be mounted OTK?

 

What you have going on here looks just fine. Another great way to compare angles would be to run a strip of light colored tap from end to end of either component (track bar and drag link). The key to this is running the tape from mounting point to mounting point soo bolt hole to bolt hole or tierod joint to tierod joint. The bends that are put into the track bars specifically can be a little deceiving.

As far as zj tie-rid otk. Yes you could but with factory knuckles you would have to drill out them out completely and then utilize a tapered sleeve to get the proper fit. Not my preffered setup but to each their own. Typically when folks swap to a one-tone tierod setup you can drill and taper from either end and still have enough make to make them right.

Remeber though, if you did do otk - the track bar setup would have to change to compensate for new operating angle. If you then switched to an over the axle track bar mount - you would either default to a shorter length track bar (likely out of convenience for simple mounting) OR get a little creative with changing both axle and frame mount locations to keep them at a similar length. The farther the two components are apart in length - the more stress gets put on your steering box and unibody when the suspension fluctuates and pushes/pulls basically fighting eachother to work the different operating angles.

 

That Jeep Guy, thank you for the response! I was actually just looking in the Haynes manual and realized it looks good. I will have to do the tape method just to make sure and to take some pics so I can compare before and after replacement of parts. I think I'm gonna go ahead and just buy the ZJ tie rod and stick with XJ stuff for all the rest. Down the road I plan on bigger axles, so I will do OTK steering at that time! Thank you again for all the help and advice!

 

ZJ bar with pretty much the same components you're running there...

 

Badass! Thanks for the pic Corky!

 

Corky I can't tell exactly from the pic here but is your passenger upper control arm mount boxed in as well?

 

Yes, I went with the Barnes UC gusset.. Truss is JCR...

 

Barns4wd for the win 🏆 Very nice!

 

In my opionion the zj steering isnt an upgrade. The stock and zj will work well to 2" of lift possibly 3 but both begin to suffer when taller lifts are pushed on them

The steering angles pictured are horrible sfr steering would be highly suggested. Stock steering wether stock xj or zj will suffer greatly.